Rachel is the Editorial Manager at The Artful Parent. She is passionate about engaging with kids through art, whether at art groups or through teaching photography at a local elementary school.
Rachel lives in Portland, Maine, and loves going on adventures with her family. As a mother of two young kids, she is excited to explore how nature, art, and play combine in a child’s learning and development. Creating art with her kids and hosting a toddler art group are current highlights.
Melissa Garrett is a parent, teacher, social worker, mess maker and lover of art supplies. She has a host of experience teaching and working with lots of different age groups, especially preschoolers. She also has a background in music and loves to integrate sound and art into the classroom and everyday life as much as possible.
Melissa loves open-ended art exploration, sewing with unexpected materials, finding interesting sounds in surprising places, going on forest adventures, and letting kids explore the world at their own pace. She has an 8-year-old daughter who really enjoys being covered with paint from head to toe, a 5-year-old son who is possibly the loudest person alive, and a very patient spouse who balances her chaos.
